Harry, Ron and Sallie made their way through the castle to the Defense
against the Dark Arts
room. Halfway there, they crossed paths with Hermione, Neville, Seamus, and Dean who were
also on their way to DADA.
"So what did you guys do during your free? That free time was so much better than suffering
through Trelawney again. 'Oh, Harry, the burden of the Inner Eye shows me that a horrible fate
is to befall you this weekend. Harry, the tea leaves show me that the intersection of Pisces and
Venus in the tenth house will cause many troubles for you this month.' I'm so happy I dropped,"
Harry said.
"See? You guys should have been smart and dropped like me a while ago," Hermione said.
"Anyway, I went to the library."
"There's a surprise," Ron whispered. Neville and the other boys snickered. "Sallie and I went to
the pitch to go practice, but Hufflepuff was already there, so we just sat and joked around in the
common room."
"OOO! Ron and Sallie were snogging in the common room," Dean shrieked. Ron swallowed
loudly and Sallie became preoccupied with her fingernails.
"Hey guys, it's almost time for class. Let's go," Harry said, desperate to relieve Ron's
embarrassment. They all walked into class, dreading another Lockhart-esque professor.
However, when they walked into class, they didn't see any professor at all.
"Maybe there's no teacher at all," Sallie said hopefully. "Have you guys ever heard of the 5
minute rule? If the teacher's not here in 5 minutes, I'm leaving."
Suddenly, the students heard a fluttering noise behind them. A giant snowy owl was fluttering
down from on top of the bookcase. "Hedwig! What's she doing here Harry," Ron asked.
"That's not Hedwig," Harry said, as the owl transformed in front of their eyes. A young wizard
in dark blue robes materialized in front of the class and began to write notes feverishly on the
board.
"No, I am not, sir, though I can understand your confusion," the new professor said, without
turning away from his furious note writing. "How many snowy owls do you see around
Hogwarts anyway? And please put away that copy of Witch Weekly, miss, I don't appreciate
other reading materials in my class." Lavender blushed and put away the article she was
showing Parvati. "Now, please read over what I have written on the board. This year you will
be learning more protective magic than any other year. You have all learned about the
Unforgivables and dark creatures. This year, you will learn ways to save yourself. I expect
some of you will already have a bit of a head start in this area," the professor said, finally turning
around to gaze at Harry.
"Excuse me sir, but I have one little question. What's your name? You're giving us all these
notes, but we don't even know who you are. I think we could be entitled to that," Sallie said.
"Well, miss, I am Professor Artemis Clark. And judging by your accent, you must be Miss
McFly. Welcome to Hogwarts. Has everyone finished taking the notes I've written?" The
entire class nodded in agreement. "Ignore them for now and listen to me. The only way to
completely defeat the Dark Arts is to counter with all the power of the Light." Several students
scoffed, but most were already drawn to the professor's dramatic delivery. "Now that you all
have the notes, please pair up, as you need to learn some rudimentary protection spells. I expect
you all know of 'Expelliarmus', so I won't spend time on reviewing that. However, we will
practice that today. We will also be practicing 'Contego', the shielding spell. This spell will
protect you from simple curses. Would you now all split up into your pairs and spread out
around the room? Practice Expelliarmus first, then Contego, but only after I have come around
to you and seen your progress."
The class jumped out of their seats and paired up all around the room. Harry and Ron took one
corner near Sallie and Hermione. Neville and Parvati paired up across the room, as did Seamus
and Dean. The whole class remembered Expelliarmus from their time in the dueling club, but
were also able to pick up the shielding spell quickly. Even Neville's Contego stood up to a Leg-
locker curse. The remainder of the class passed quickly, and when the bell rang, the students
trudged, disappointed, out of the class.
room. Halfway there, they crossed paths with Hermione, Neville, Seamus, and Dean who were
also on their way to DADA.
"So what did you guys do during your free? That free time was so much better than suffering
through Trelawney again. 'Oh, Harry, the burden of the Inner Eye shows me that a horrible fate
is to befall you this weekend. Harry, the tea leaves show me that the intersection of Pisces and
Venus in the tenth house will cause many troubles for you this month.' I'm so happy I dropped,"
Harry said.
"See? You guys should have been smart and dropped like me a while ago," Hermione said.
"Anyway, I went to the library."
"There's a surprise," Ron whispered. Neville and the other boys snickered. "Sallie and I went to
the pitch to go practice, but Hufflepuff was already there, so we just sat and joked around in the
common room."
"OOO! Ron and Sallie were snogging in the common room," Dean shrieked. Ron swallowed
loudly and Sallie became preoccupied with her fingernails.
"Hey guys, it's almost time for class. Let's go," Harry said, desperate to relieve Ron's
embarrassment. They all walked into class, dreading another Lockhart-esque professor.
However, when they walked into class, they didn't see any professor at all.
"Maybe there's no teacher at all," Sallie said hopefully. "Have you guys ever heard of the 5
minute rule? If the teacher's not here in 5 minutes, I'm leaving."
Suddenly, the students heard a fluttering noise behind them. A giant snowy owl was fluttering
down from on top of the bookcase. "Hedwig! What's she doing here Harry," Ron asked.
"That's not Hedwig," Harry said, as the owl transformed in front of their eyes. A young wizard
in dark blue robes materialized in front of the class and began to write notes feverishly on the
board.
"No, I am not, sir, though I can understand your confusion," the new professor said, without
turning away from his furious note writing. "How many snowy owls do you see around
Hogwarts anyway? And please put away that copy of Witch Weekly, miss, I don't appreciate
other reading materials in my class." Lavender blushed and put away the article she was
showing Parvati. "Now, please read over what I have written on the board. This year you will
be learning more protective magic than any other year. You have all learned about the
Unforgivables and dark creatures. This year, you will learn ways to save yourself. I expect
some of you will already have a bit of a head start in this area," the professor said, finally turning
around to gaze at Harry.
"Excuse me sir, but I have one little question. What's your name? You're giving us all these
notes, but we don't even know who you are. I think we could be entitled to that," Sallie said.
"Well, miss, I am Professor Artemis Clark. And judging by your accent, you must be Miss
McFly. Welcome to Hogwarts. Has everyone finished taking the notes I've written?" The
entire class nodded in agreement. "Ignore them for now and listen to me. The only way to
completely defeat the Dark Arts is to counter with all the power of the Light." Several students
scoffed, but most were already drawn to the professor's dramatic delivery. "Now that you all
have the notes, please pair up, as you need to learn some rudimentary protection spells. I expect
you all know of 'Expelliarmus', so I won't spend time on reviewing that. However, we will
practice that today. We will also be practicing 'Contego', the shielding spell. This spell will
protect you from simple curses. Would you now all split up into your pairs and spread out
around the room? Practice Expelliarmus first, then Contego, but only after I have come around
to you and seen your progress."
The class jumped out of their seats and paired up all around the room. Harry and Ron took one
corner near Sallie and Hermione. Neville and Parvati paired up across the room, as did Seamus
and Dean. The whole class remembered Expelliarmus from their time in the dueling club, but
were also able to pick up the shielding spell quickly. Even Neville's Contego stood up to a Leg-
locker curse. The remainder of the class passed quickly, and when the bell rang, the students
trudged, disappointed, out of the class.